Essay

Direct Sales for Bootstrapped SaaS Startups: from $1,300 to $725,000 MRR

Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com Free Intermediate

Barry documents, with real numbers, how he grew ConvertKit through direct outreach and relentless follow-up rather than a polished channel strategy. It's a rare essay that shows the unglamorous grind and the mistakes, which is more useful than the tidied-up version most people tell.

• Ask about frustrations with what people currently use, don't open by pitching your product.
• Not following up was his single most repeated and costly mistake.
• Referrals from early customers eventually outperformed cold outreach entirely.